Former Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Sunday, May 31, said Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano should consider stepping down as the Senate leader in order to bring back order and unity in the Upper Chamber.

Pimentel pointed this out as he expressed concern over the current state of the Senate since Cayetano took over the Senate leadership last May 11.

The former minority leader said it would be best if Cayetano voluntarily gives up the Senate leadership seat and give it to “a better unifier” for the good of the chamber.

“You volunteered to be a leader of the chamber, tapos yung chamber mo walang magawa, kasi puro kayo away (but the chamber could not do anything because all you do is bicker),”  Pimentel said in a Radio DZBB interview.

“So baka maisip mo, baka di pala ako para dito (So maybe you should think, this may not be for me). I have to step back, ibigay na natin ito (let’s give this up) for the good of the chamber, hindi yung (and not) for my own good,” the former senator also said.

“Kasi pwede kang mag-isip ng for your own good, yung honor mo sa sarili mo, naging Senate president ka, may power ka, meron kang mga responsibiltieis, at No. 3 ka sa linya sa gobyerno sa power. Pero nagli-lead ka ng isang chamber ng isang body na walang patutunguhan (You may be thinking for your own good, the honor you receive, the power, the responsibilities and you are No. 3 in the line of power in the government. But you are leading a chamber that’s not going anywhere),” he lamented.

“So nahawakan mo na, nakita mo na (So you have achieved it, and you’ve seen), maybe this is not for me or this is not yet for me. So let’s get a better unifier to run the Senate,” he suggested.

Pimentel lamented that the recent developments had driven a wedge between the 13-man majority bloc versus the so-called Solid Bloc 11 of the minority.

He recalled that even when he and Sen. Risa Hontiveros were the only members of the opposition during the last Congress, they had a good working relationship with the members of the majority bloc back then.

“Ako, kahit minority leader ako noon, kaya ko makipag-kape sa kanila. Ngayon ito ang balita nila sa akin ngayon walang pansinan (Even if I was the minority leader back then, I can meet them for coffee. Now, I’ve heard none of them would just ignore each other),” he pointed out.

Pimentel also believes that some senators are now also concerned over the current state of the Senate and are having second thoughts on whether they still want to be part of a chamber that has stopped functioning. That, or they too would also start looking for a better unifier.

“Yung iba concerned sila di lang sa sarili nila, concerned sila dun sa chamber, sa institution eh. Nag iisip din na teka muna, matatapos na ang term natin, two years to go, wala ka pa na aachieve, then filing na ng certificate next year. Mag iisip sila, teka muna, hanap na lang tayo ng better unifier (Some are concerned not only for themselves, they are concerned about the chamber, the institution. They are thinking, wait, our term is about to end soon. And I have yet to achieve something. But the filing of the certificate for candidacy is near. They will think, it’s best to find a better unifier),” he stated.

“Nagso-soul searching na iba diyan, kung gusto ko pa ba mapabilang sa isang institution na pag balikan sa history, masasabi ng taong walang nagawa. Walang nangyari kasi …puro bangayan (I’m sure the others are already soul-searching, asking do I still want to be part of an institution which, if you go back in history, the people would say, had done nothing then? Nothing was done because they were just quarelling,” he pointed out.

Pimentel also warned the majority bloc against disregarding the minority bloc, which by far has a bigger membership now compared in the past.

The former Senate leader said the majority bloc should not monopolize the composition of all the committees and should instead wait for the minority bloc to send in the names of its members in the delegation of committees.

“Ang Senado, demokrasya yan (The Senate is a democratic institution). Ang senado, demokrasya yan. Therefore, ang rules namin, pinoproteksyunan ang (our rules, actually protects the) minority,” he pointed out.

“At hindi pwede patahimikin ang minority hindi sila pwedeng i-etsepwera. Eh kung ganun sabihin mo ok na majority, aandar na yung barko, kahit hindi kayo sumakay, may hearing na. Hindi pwede, parang inetsepwera mo pa ang napakalaking minority (You cannot silence the minority, you cannot just disregard them. If you’ll just say the majority is ok, the boat is about to sail, even if you refuse to go on board, the hearing will push through. That’s not right. You are disregarding a very huge minority bloc),” he reiterated.

“Ang tradition dyan, sa pagpili ng minority leader di dapat makialam si majority. Pagdating sa minority representation sa committees wag makialam si majority, ganun din sa bicam (The tradition here is, in choosing the minority leader, the majority should not meddle. When it comes to minority representation in committees, the majority should also not intervene. The same way should happen in the bicameral committees),” he insisted.